Sophisticated Life Science Research Instrumentation. Vogel Test System. Anxiety Monitoring System

Transcription

1 Sophisticated Life Science Research Instrumentation Vogel Test System Anxiety Monitoring System

2 Specifications subject to change without notice

3 TSE Vogel Test System General information The TSE Vogel Test System is designed for monitoring the effect of anxiolytic agents in small laboratory animals using the technique described by Vogel et al. (Psychopharmacology 1971, 21:1-7). The Vogel conflict test appears to be of particular relevance to generalized anxiety disorders. System components The system can be configured for rats, mice or other small laboratory animals. It includes: animal cage(s), control unit, shock generator, control interface, Vogel Test software for Windows, PC with Excel software (optional). Drinking bottle The animal is allowed to drink and to complete a userspecified number of licks before a shock is administered. The shock duration and intensity can be set by the user. The animal controls shock frequency by withdrawing from the tube. In the software main menu there are two displays for each cage; these light up when a lick or shock takes place. Data recording can be started after the first lick, after the first shock or by a manual start. The data is transferred to an Excel worksheet. In addition to date, time and test duration the number of licks and shocks per test interval and per animal cage are stored. The universal data format allows further evaluations to be carried out. The number of shocks received after treatment with anxiolytic drugs is subsequently compared to that of untreated animals. Measuring principle The water-deprived animal is located in a test cage with an electrically conductive nipple and grid. Animal licks are recorded by the electrical sensor currents at the drinking nipple; these currents are below the animal s perception level. Standard cage mouse

4 Vogel Test Software When the program has been started the program main window appears: At the top of the window the following buttons are available: Setup Excel Start Stop End Opens the setup window for entering control parameters Creates a link to Excel, if this has not already been started Starts a measurement Stops a measurement Ends the program Below the buttons the following symbols are available: Lick sensors Shockers Lick sensor activation display Shock application display Preparing an experiment ( Setup ) Before a measurement is started control parameters have to be specified. This is done in the Setup window: Licks to Shock Ratio (1-100) Number of licks that must have occurred before a shock is applied. Shock Length ( sec) Shock application duration in seconds. Shock Intensity ( ma; 0=Off) Strength of shock application in ma. Recording Interval (1-60 min) Length of the individual measuring interval, i.e. the period after which test data is entered in the Excel worksheet. Start Recording Interval on 1st Lick the measurement begins after the first lick. The first lick is not entered in the measured values table, but only triggers the start of the measurement. If no lick is applied by the animal the corresponding columns in the Excel table remain empty. on 1st Shock the measurement begins after the first shock. The first shock is not entered in the measured values table, but only triggers the start of the measurement. If no shock is applied the corresponding columns in the Excel table remain empty. common the measurement for all cages begins when the start button is activated. If no lick is made by the animal and no shock is applied then a zero is entered for the corresponding cages in the columns of the Excel table. Configuring an Excel sheet In order to guarantee maximum flexibility the measuring values are transferred into an Excel sheet. Test date and time, the number of licks and shocks per recording interval/animal cage and information about the length of the test and the start mode (on 1st lick, on 1st shock or common) are also given. The user can provide the measurement table with additional information individual Excel worksheets can be created containing all required descriptive information such as type of animal, operator etc. These predefined worksheets can be used as templates for the subsequent measurements. Starting a measurement Before a measurement is started the link to Excel has to be established. Clicking on the button Excel automatically opens the program. The following parameters are available: Number of Boxes (1-16) Here the number of boxes has to be entered.

5 Load an existing template worksheet or create a new one. Fill in the given input fields and save the file under a different name. Select the starting position. Recording Data in Excel Start position for automatic data input The measurement is then activated with the Start button. In the common mode the measurement starts immediately, in the on 1st lick or on 1st shock mode measurement starts with the first lick and first shock respectively. Each time a lick or shock occurs the Vogel Test software main window shows a green or red square thus allowing the operator to see the status of each box at a glance. Trial Monitor Both pieces of information are according to the specified measuring interval transferred to the Excel table and displayed in the selected format. Ending measurement ( Stop button) The measurement mode can be deactivated by using the Stop button, if the measurement has not already been stopped by the defined test duration having elapsed. No further licks will be counted and shock application is deactivated. The measurement data in the Excel worksheet are now available for further-reaching statistical evaluation.

6 Partial list of users DSO National Laboratories (Kent Ridge), Singapore, Singapore Medical University of Silesia, Zabrze, Poland NOVARTIS PHARMA AG, Basel, Switzerland SkeleTech Inc., Bothell, WA, USA University College Cork - UCC, Cork, Ireland Ordering Information Cat.No. Description Anxiety Monitoring System "Vogel Test" with N animal cages Fully automatic. Complete and comprising: N cages for mice or for rats (animal species to be specified) - drinking bottle with stainless steel drinking nipple - conductive floor grid - lid - connecting set shock generator(s) for conductive floor grid(s)/ drinking nipple(s) control unit system complete with software package Vogel Test for WINDOWS Requires: PC with MS Excel CA/M Mouse Cage for Anxiety Monitoring System "Vogel Test" complete with: drinking bottle with stainless steel drinking nipple conductive floor grid lid connecting set CA/R Rat Cage for Anxiety Monitoring System "Vogel Test" complete with: drinking bottle with stainless steel drinking nipple conductive floor grid lid connecting set SHOCK Shock Generator for Anxiety Monitoring System "Vogel Test", Microprocessor-equipped shock module. Designed to provide a mild constant current shock with output adjustable via software up to 3.2 ma (up to 4.5 ma available on request). Alternatively pulsating constant current with 20 Hz frequency can be applied (other frequencies on request). The current chosen is applied independent of the actual cross-over resistance (max. 73 kohm at 1.5 ma). To be mounted into the Anxiety Monitoring "Vogel Test" Control Unit. Requires: 1 Shock generator for each cage R/C-n Control Unit System for Anxiety Monitoring System "Vogel Test" For connection of N Mouse or Rat Cages for Anxiety Monitoring System "Vogel Test", expandable. User-defined control of experiment via the flexible VT software. Possible entries in the setup are: recording interval (1-60 min.) number of licks per shock (1-100) shock intensity ( ma) shock length ( sec) measuring mode (on 1. lick, on 1. shock and manual start) experiment duration (1-60 min) Supervision display for lick sensor and shock generator of each animal cage. Automatic data transfer in Excel: date of experiment

7 N = 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48*, 64 start time of experiment number of particular animal cage experiment duration measuring mode number of licks per interval and animal cage number of shocks per interval and animal cage mean value (if desired) standard deviation (if desired) Complete and consisting of (for connecting to PC): control unit (complete with power supply and connectors for N shocker modules) special interface system VT-0N software package VT-0N for WINDOWS Requires: PC with MS Excel. (*if more than 32 cage connections to the control unit are required then you should select the 64-place control unit)

8 Sophisticated Life Science Research Instrumentation Service & Warranty TSE Systems offers a Two (2) Years ALL-IN Premium Warranty with all new products, including: 24/7 technical hotline Remote maintenance and update function On-site visits upon necessity Free replacement parts during warranty After the expiry of the warranty period, TSE Systems offers comprehensive extensions of the warranty or economical maintenance and repair contracts to ensure the continued smooth running of your instruments. Please contact us for further details. Specifications subject to change without notice Copyright 2014 TSE Systems International Group - All rights reserved Info@TSE-Systems.com